Welcome

I work at global communications agency, LEWIS. I advise organizations about their public relations campaigns, and staff about personal performance. I discuss the latest thinking in both here. This blog was started in 2004. Thanks for coming.

It’s not just governments which face threats from whistle-blowing sites, like Wikileaks. Organizations, especially consumer-facing brands, can easily attract a negative online presence from a disgruntled customer or employee. We’ve all seen those Brand X Sucks sites. So what should you do?

A popular request in Silicon Valley is to ‘meet for coffee’. This is often a euphemism for a short meeting with no fixed agenda, beyond getting to know one another. As far as it goes, this can be productive – business is social after all. Many strong business relationships – with clients, partners, investors and potential employees start with an informal intro. But how do you make the most of them?

Amid the ever expanding choice of communications methods, the use of the humble telephone is in decline. Who responds to voicemails right? But here are ten task which need you to pick up the phone. Don’t hide behind email, take a deep breath and dial. It’s faster and more productive.

We’re starting to research new office space, prior to moving in Summer 2011. During the five years we’ve been in our current location, working practices and expectations of staff/clients have changed. So is an open plan office still the best layout?